Innocence Interrupted
by The Weather Gal
Summary: Final Chapter Added Sequel to Usual Adventures 4 Years Later and Many Surprises are in Store SS
1. Dinner and a Visitor

Author's Notes: Well, I did it! I wrote a sequel to "Usual Adventures" and I'm really excited for it. I really want to give this time to thank every person who reviewed Usual Adventures, you really helped me to keep writing it! A special thanks to some of my reviewers- hadassaknamu, Sweet Blazin', April, H, screen names are tacky, and SassyAngel05. Thanks! Hope you like the direction I take the story, and if you don't, please tell me what you think! And if you get a chance- read my new S/S story- Sweetest Thing. Thanks for reading!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Alias, my great hero J.J. Abrams and ABC do.  
  
  
  
**Sydney POV**  
  
4 years later.  
  
I was just finishing cleaning up after making us a wonderful Italian dinner when I felt two hands come from behind and wrap around my waist.  
  
"You know, the doctor said you should take it easy," he mumbles in my ear as he rubs my stomach.  
  
"I know," I tell him back and turn and plant a kiss on his cheek.  
  
"How about we take a walk on the beach after I help you clean up this mess?" Andrew asks me.  
  
"Sounds great," I reply and take some dishes into the kitchen and put them in the sink. He follows me close behind with a platter in hand.  
  
"I called one of my contacts today, and they told me that they moved your mother to a safe house instead of at the CIA," he tells me. He made a point to try to stay out of the old business, as we called it, but periodically checked up to see if everything was okay.  
  
"Oh really?" I reply.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it," he says, comforting me.  
  
"I'm not," I say back.  
  
We both go back into the dining room and both reach down and go for the same plate. We hit our heads and look up and start to laugh.  
  
"Sydney, I'm so in love with you," he tells me after we stop laughing and we lean in for a kiss, but are interrupted by a screaming voice.  
  
"MOMMY!" our 3 year old daughter, Bedelia, screams from the family room. We call her Delia for short. I always wanted my daughter to have a French name, and Bedelia means strength in French.  
  
"Oh, what now," I say as we pull apart and she runs into the dining room and latches herself to my leg.  
  
I lean down and say, "What's wrong, honey?"  
  
"I scraped my finger," she says and puts her finger in front of my face so I could inspect it.  
  
"That looks like a pretty big cut," I tell her just to amuse her.  
  
"Can I get a band-aid?" Delia asks.  
  
"I guess so," I inform her and lead her into the bathroom and medicine cabinet.  
  
I lean down and put it on her finger and kiss it as I always do.  
  
"All better," I tell her.  
  
"Mommy?" she asks. "When am I going to get my new baby brother or sister?"  
  
"In a few months."  
  
"I want a sister," she informs me.  
  
"Oh really?" I joke with her and take her hand and lead her out to the dining room, where Andrew had cleaned up the rest of dinner.  
  
"Yep, so she can play dolls with me," she adds.  
  
"All better, pumpkin?" Andrew asks her when he comes back in the room.  
  
"Yep!" she says with her big bright smile.  
  
Our lives had become almost perfect since we had moved to Australia. We hadn't been disturbed since I left four years ago, probably because no one could find us. We changed our last names and settled down on the coast in a nice beach home. Andrew said he had enough money saved to last us two lifetimes, so neither of us worked.  
  
"Delia, how about you go play with your dolls for a few minutes and you can come with us when Mommy and Daddy go on a walk on the beach," I lean down and tell her.  
  
"Okay," she says and runs along.  
  
He walks over and takes my hand and says, "Don't you love everything now?"  
  
"Especially you, and Delia," I tell him and give him a kiss.  
  
"The forces are finally on our side," he says and we hug and then continue cleaning up dinner.  
  
  
  
We head outside, Delia in my hand, and Andrew takes her other hand. We start walking down the beach and soon enough, she pulls out of our grasp and runs down the water looking for shells. It's funny, she always seems to find two or three.  
  
"The sunset is spectacular tonight," he starts.  
  
"It seems to get better and better every night," I add.  
  
"I was thinking we could go for a vacation to France," he says.  
  
"Ooh, that does sound good. We could visit Paris," I reply.  
  
We both look over at Delia playing in the water and notice it getting darker out.  
  
"Delia, honey, don't go too far into the water, baby," Andrew yells to her.  
  
"Are we going to bring Delia?" I ask him.  
  
"Of course," he tells me.  
  
"Good."  
  
She runs up to us and shows us something in her hands.  
  
"Mommy! Look at the shell I found," Delia says and opens her hands and shows me a small shell.  
  
"Good job, honey," I tell her and she whips around and shows Andrew.  
  
"Look, Daddy," she then tells him.  
  
"Wow," he says to her with a smile and he puts the shell in his pocket, as he always does. We both take one of her hands and walk back to the house and pat our feet off.  
  
Delia runs ahead and we stay behind and walk into the family room and notice someone sitting in our chair. I quickly grasp Andrew's hand and he leads us in.  
  
"Sydney, Mr. Sark, what a pleasure," her Russian accent comes through with no problem.  
  
"Irina, escaping CIA custody should be your profession," Andrew tells him in his cocky British accent that he only uses when he doesn't like someone.  
  
"I thought I would come visit my daughter and her husband," she says, standing up to face us both.  
  
"How kind of you to think of us while you're on the run from the CIA," I tell her.  
  
"You think I'm stupid? Well, I'm not. I know your two had me put back in CIA custody so you could go off and play happy couple," she says, getting up in the faces of both of us.  
  
Delia comes running down stairs and Irina turns around at the noise, and I notice her hand go straight to her gun.  
  
"Mommy!" she screams again.  
  
I ignore the glares from Irina and squat down to talk to Delia.  
  
"What is it honey?" I ask her.  
  
She looks up at Irina and says first, "Who's she?"  
  
"An old friend of your mommy and daddy's, honey, now what else did you want?" I ask her.  
  
"Oh," and she turns her focus back to me. "My doll's arm fell off!"  
  
She shows me the doll and I give her a small smile. In times like these, something so innocent could be so perfect.  
  
"How about you go back upstairs and Mommy will be up in a minute to fix it, okay?" I tell her. She runs upstairs and shuts the door to her room.  
  
After a minute, Irina says, "She looks just like you, Sydney. Except she has your blue eyes, Sark."  
  
"If you as so lay one hand on my daughter, you won't see tomorrow," Andrew tells her getting up into her face.  
  
"Pretty weak threat coming from someone I used to employ," Irina tells him back.  
  
I decide to try to end this conflict, and say, "What do you want, Irina? Why are you here?"  
  
"You both screwed with me, and now, I'm going to screw with you," she says harshly, putting us both back on our feet in awe.  
  
  
  
~~Well, what's your opinion? Like it? What should I do next?!~~ Masquerade 


	2. A Deal to be Made

Author's Notes: So, I was in a rut for a little bit and had a hard time coming up with an idea. But, I think you'll like what I've done, and please, review and tell me. Any suggestions would rock! Thanks again for all the reviews last chapter! Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Sydney POV**  
  
We both decide we must sit down, and in doing so, we practically sit on top of each other on our main couch. We look over at each other, wondering what our next move should be, but we were both out of this type of thing for a few years now.  
  
"What do you want from us?" I ask her in my harshest tone  
  
"Getting right to the point I see, Sydney," she mischievously replies.  
  
"Irina, I wouldn't mess with my wife, especially when she's pregnant," Andrew says sticking up for me. Rather funny actually, he always jokes about how I'm a bare when my hormones are acting up. I do get pretty nasty.  
  
"Sark, I would never have imagined you turning into the protective husband type, heck, I never imagined you would marry," Irina says to him harshly. It obviously got him upset.  
  
"Can we stop this now?" I ask. "Let's get to why you are here, please?"  
  
"Fine, pushy, aren't we Sydney?" she says with her smirk.  
  
"I know you're trying to provoke us, so just cut the crap?" I tell her back.  
  
"Alright, alright," she finally says.  
  
Andrew and I look over at each other and finally look ready to face the music. I never got the chance to really trust this woman, so I was afraid of what she was going to say.  
  
"It's simple, you two come to help me re-organize my organization, and I'll simply put it, I won't, first off, tell the CIA of your location, kidnap your darling child, and end up killing you both," she says and we both stand back in awe.  
  
"Interesting threats Irina, I'd just love to see if you have enough guts to back them up," Sark, I mean Andrew, says to her. I get in this spy mode and start calling him Sark again.  
  
"Don't believe me?" she says with an evil tone in her voice.  
  
"Irina," Sark says in his cautionary tone.  
  
"So, how about I give you two the night to think about it?" she says.  
  
It just occurred to me that Sark always carried a small pistol in his one pocket, and he was obviously trying to get to it without causing too much of a distraction.  
  
We both stood up at the same time Irina did, and Andrew took the pistol and finally got her in the shoulder. She fell down in pain, but still was awake. I stood back as he went over there to her on the floor.  
  
He put his leg on her stomach, "First of all, no one messes with my family, and most of all, no one messes with me." He proceeds to kick her and knock her out.  
  
"What are we going to do?" I ask him, rushing over to him.  
  
"Hold on," he says and whips out his phone. He talks to someone about taking Irina away, and then turns back to me.  
  
"Alright, you go pack some stuff for Delia, and some for me and you, and I'll take care of this," he says, acting very protective of me right now.  
  
"What are you going to do with her?" I ask him as I start up the staircase.  
  
"Give her back to the CIA," he tells me before leaning down to tie up her legs and arms. I keep going up the stairs and find Delia in her room.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mommy!" she says and runs over to me. "I heard a big noise, I was scared."  
  
I hug her and start to gently cry, "It's okay honey, and everything's going to be okay. Now, let's pack a few things for you and your dolly, we're going on a trip!"  
  
"Where to, mommy?" she asks in her innocent voice. If she only knew everything.  
  
"I'm not sure, baby, Daddy's gonna tell us."  
  
"Okay," she says and goes and gets out her doll's suitcase, of course, and I proceed and pack her one. She's so young and beautiful, that I can only hope she never be brought into a life like the one Andrew and I have had so far.  
  
After packing her, I let her continue to play with a few toys and go into our bedroom. It was beautiful, it was the perfect bedroom I had always imagined, and Andrew let me have it. I didn't know if we would ever come back, but I took the time to admire its beauty before I started to frantically pack a few things for both of us.  
  
I stopped for a second and looked up at the mirror. I had gotten older, and part of me shuttered at how much I looked at the woman that is supposedly my mother. It made me almost sick inside. I had to get my head in the game though, be strong for Delia, and for Andrew.  
  
I finished and went into Delia's room to see her playing with Andrew. I paused and watched them from the door as he helped her position the furniture in her dollhouse. It was so classic, one of those times I wish I had a camera. Soon enough, he looked up at me and gave a small grin, and we both knew how wonderful the little things in life were.  
  
"Hey," he says after he gets up to join me. "Everything's in place. We're going to LA to deliver her ourselves."  
  
"We're doing what?" I say in hesitation. What would the CIA think of me now? All they know is that we went missing four years ago and just assumed we're dead. Vaughn and my father might have an idea, but otherwise, Francie and Will just assumed I went missing.  
  
"Sydney, trust me, it'll be fine, and it's about time you saw your father again," he tells me. It is true, out of everyone, I have missed my father the most. Plus, he would get to see his little baby granddaughter.  
  
"Alright, how are we flying?" I ask him.  
  
"My plane, for safety, of course," he adds.  
  
  
  
We walk down the steps, and I see one of Andrew's men have taken care of Irina. We head for the car, and notice how dark it was outside. I always loved flying at night, and hadn't in a long time.  
  
"Where are we going, Daddy?" she asks him in the car.  
  
"We're going to a big city, called Los Angeles," he tells her.  
  
"Is there a zoo?" Delia asks her.  
  
"Of course, and we'll make sure to go visit," he says and looks up and smiles at me. Delia always loved zoos and we've been to everyone in Australia.  
  
"Will they have polar bears, Daddy?" she asks him.  
  
"I'm not sure, pumpkin," he tells her.  
  
I just take this time to sit back and admire our family. If you didn't know us, you would just assume we were an ordinary, suburbia family. Of course, we couldn't be.  
  
We arrived at the plane and Delia was more than happy. She had never been on a plane before and was thrilled. It was rather funny to watch her, so one of us tried to keep tabs on her. Andrew was constantly on the phone with one of his contacts, so I stayed with her. Hotel arrangements, getting a runway to land the plane, etc. Since he was officially out of the business, many of his contacts were surprised to hear from him, but did whatever he asked.  
  
When we took off, Delia was tired and seen fell asleep. It was getting late for her and it was no surprise that she was tired. I left her in one of the front seats and headed to the back where Andrew was at the bar. He handed out a drink for me and I easily took it.  
  
"Remember, when I first rode on this plane with you, and how I refused to take any drink from you, thinking you would poison me?" I say, reminiscing on our past.  
  
"Always, those were the good old times, you hated me, I was the leader of a international crime syndicate," he says, jokingly.  
  
I lean up against him and he wraps his hands around my waist. We sit there, obviously tired, and not wanting to be flying across the Pacific to reminisce on our past.  
  
I snap out of it for a second and ask him, "So, what's the plan?"  
  
  
  
~Good? Bad? Oh, please tell me! Thanks for reading~ Masquerade 


	3. Arriving Back Home

Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews for last chapter! Sorry it took me so long to update! Also props to Epitome, which said that if Sydney were pregnant, she wouldn't be drinking alcohol. How about we pretend it was ginger ale?! Anyway, thanks for reading and enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias are owned by J.J. Abrams and his wonderful staff!  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, first of all, I'll have a driver take you and Delia to one of my safe houses," he tells me.  
  
"Alright," I add in.  
  
"Then, I'll get everything in order and come pick you up to deliver Irina to the CIA," he says.  
  
"What, are telling me that we're going to waltz into the CIA, say, here, we found her, we thought you might like her back, without raising any suspicion?" I ask him.  
  
"That's what I'm aiming for," he informs me.  
  
"Andrew, you're acting very cool about this, remember, the CIA might want to put you away for a couple of million years," I coolly inform him.  
  
"Sydney," he starts, weaving his hand within mine, "The CIA owes me, I doubt they'll try anything."  
  
"Alright," I can only say and I retreat back to my seat. I sit down, heavily sigh, figuring so many problems could arise from this plan.  
  
"By the way," I start, "Where do they have her?"  
  
"My men injected her with a serum to keep her out for 24 hours and they're keeping her in the cargo compartment," he informs me.  
  
I smile at that, "Good."  
  
I lean back, trying my hardest to get an ounce of rest, but so many things are running through my head. I have to see my dad again, and Vaughn, and who knows, I might run into Will or Francie. Everyone's going to hate me now, I just feel it.  
  
"Honey," he gently whispers into my ear, "Everything's going to be okay."  
  
How I wanted that simple phrase to hold so much merit and truth. He took my hand and we both tried to get some sleep, using our bodies as pillows for one another.  
  
  
  
I woke up when I felt a small hand tugging at my sleeve. I could hear small words muttering me to wake up, but I couldn't yet. I gently wake my eyes up and see Delia standing, with a smile that reached across her entire face.  
  
"Morning, Mommy!" she says when I finally am awake.  
  
I look next to me and see that Andrew wasn't there, "Delia, honey, where's Daddy?"  
  
"He's in the bathroom getting cleaned up, he told me," she tells me in her cute voice.  
  
"Good," I say, obviously tired in my response.  
  
She comes over and jumps up into the seat where Andrew had been sleeping.  
  
"Mommy, will you tell me why we are going to the big city?" she asks, so innocently.  
  
"Well, you know that lady that was at our house last night?" I ask her. She nods her head a lot. "Well, we're taking her back to her home." A simple lie, but true in nature.  
  
"Where is she at then?" she asks me.  
  
"In the back of the plane," I tell her.  
  
"Oh," she says. "I'm hungry."  
  
"Me too," I tell her with a smile and we both get out of our chairs. We walk over to the food area and I hand her a muffin with some juice and I take another muffin with some water. We both sit down in the chairs and quietly eat our food.  
  
Andrew walks out right after we both sit down, and smiles at the sight at hand. I smile back, and he walks over and gives Delia a kiss on her head, and me, one on the lips.  
  
"Good morning, my two princesses," he says.  
  
"Hey, honey," I tell him.  
  
"How's the muffins?" he asks us, particularly at Delia.  
  
"Great, daddy!" she tells him.  
  
"Where are we at?" I ask him.  
  
"We're almost there, actually," Andrew says.  
  
"Great. Where are we landing?" I ask.  
  
"Sydney, let me worry about that now," he informs me. He had become very protective of him since I left SD-6, and practically never let me do any work.  
  
"Fine."  
  
  
  
We finish our breakfast, and Delia's glued to the window, watching as we slowly approach land. I get dressed into a different outfit, one that was more like the old Sydney Bristow. A black suit to be precise. I came out just in time to get my seat for us to land. The three of us sat in a row, Andrew, then I, and Delia on my other side.  
  
When we've landed, Delia and I head out and I give Andrew a good luck look before we head into the car. Funny part was, I knew Andrew had a safe house or two here, but I'd never been.  
  
The nice man, who I didn't recognize, so must have been a quick find, drove us to the house. Delia had become quiet, but I think she was taking in the big city. We had stayed in our small town since her birth for security reasons, so she had never been anywhere this big.  
  
We arrived safely and the house was very nice, but I expected no less. When we got married, he promised me he was out of the business, but I knew he still had everything, just in case. I walked in, Delia in hand, and settled our bags down on the floor.  
  
"Mommy, who's house is this?" she asks me.  
  
"It's Daddy's," I tell her. Actually, since we were married, he said everything was joint ownership, so I suppose it belonged to be as well.  
  
"Wow," she only squeaks out. I peruse the house, checking out all the specs, as if my spy mode had come back into play.  
  
  
  
I had been sitting on the porch, waiting, for a half hour, while Delia was in playing with a few toys. It felt like LA, the air, the smell, and I was terrified. After four years, I return home without speaking on word to my past. I couldn't even imagine what my father would say.  
  
I heard the door open, so I turn around and see my love walking in with that frustrated look on his face. I get up from my chair to meet him halfway for a quick kiss and comforting. He definitely didn't look pleased at all.  
  
"What's wrong?" I ask.  
  
"Your mother woke up," he tells me.  
  
"Oh," I only say.  
  
"It's fine, are you ready?" he asks me.  
  
"I don't I'll ever be ready for this," I say with my trademark smile.  
  
"I took the liberty of hiring a nanny," he informs me, and a nice lady walked in.  
  
"Hello," I tell her, walking over to shake her hand.  
  
"Hi," she says with a bright smile. "I'm Amy."  
  
"Thanks, Amy, so much," I tell her. "Delia's upstairs playing, hold on let me get her."  
  
I run to the stairs and scream, "DELIA!"  
  
Soon enough, the small feet come running down the stairs. "Yes, Mommy?"  
  
"Amy, she's going to watch you while Mommy and Daddy do some stuff, okay?" I tell her.  
  
"Then, can we go to the zoo?" she asks.  
  
"Of course, baby," Andrew says.  
  
We head out quickly, hand in hand, and I take note of the van that he had for us to drive. I hopped in shotgun, while Andrew drove. I looked back in the cargo area and noticed my mother, very awake. I ignored her small comments and we slowly made our way through the traffic to the CIA building.  
  
We arrive a mere half-hour later, mostly due to the traffic, and Andrew and I make our way right into the building. I took his hand, as my heartbeat slowly was rising. He could sense that I was tense, which made him nervous as well. We walked to the receptionist and he did the talking.  
  
"Yes, I'd like to speak to Jack Bristow," he tells the young woman.  
  
  
  
~Ahhh! Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are great, as always! Thanks for reading~ Masquerade 


	4. Reunions and Surprises

Author's Notes: Well. sorry for the 2 weeks I took to update! Sorry so much! Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter! This chapter I was inspired to write in Jack's POV, and enjoyed doing it a lot! I think you'll enjoy this, and please review with any comments or suggestions!!!  
  
Disclaimer: If you're stupid enough to even think I might own a percent of these characters, you'd be wrong. The wonderful mastermind of J.J. Abrams gets all the credit!  
  
  
  
***Jack POV***  
  
It had started off by being a slow week. It turned upside down with the moment Irina decided to escape from our custody. We took a major hit by it and I didn't exactly feel safe anymore. Today, I was sorting through any leads on her location and trying not to get yelled at one more time.  
  
"Sir," the front desk receptionist calls me.  
  
"Yes," I reply.  
  
"There's a man here, with a woman, claiming to be your daughter?" she asks in a questioning tone. The receptionists were hardly in the know on these types of things, which was for the better, which caused her suspicion. If she's right, that means Sydney's here. Probably with that Sark.  
  
"I'll be right there, don't let them go anywhere," I say.  
  
I start out and walk through the main operations center where I get a glance of Vaughn and Weiss working together. Since Sydney had left four years ago, both of them had been moved up and were field agents now. They all assumed that either SD-6 or the Alliance had got to her and her car accident was staged, guessing that she actually couldn't have died as stated. I knew better, she had to be alive with that lunatic.  
  
I go over and stop at Vaughn, "I think Sydney's here."  
  
He looks up me like the deer in headlights and his mouth drops to the floor, "Um, excuse me?"  
  
"Follow me," I tell him. I start to walk and it takes a second for him to catch up to me.  
  
"Wait a second, you knew Sydney wasn't dead?" he asks me.  
  
"I had a hunch," I reply to him.  
  
"A hunch? And you never told me?" he asks of me.  
  
"That's not important now, just stay with me for back up," I tell him to get him to shut up. My guess, somehow Irina's escape has something to do with the return of Sydney.  
  
We reach the entrance to the CIA and through the glass can see them. We both stop a second, Vaughn still struck by the fact that Sydney is still alive, and myself, struck by the fact she actually returned, with Sark, to the CIA.  
  
I swing open the door and watch as both heads swing towards mine. They both stay put for a second, not knowing what to say first.  
  
"Sydney, Sark," I start.  
  
"Dad," she says, tearing up a little, how she would always do back while working at SD-6, and within a second, I have her wrapped in a hug. I imagined one day we would meet again, but didn't know how or when.  
  
"How about we go to the conference room?" I tell them. Neither of them objects, and it's evident that dirty glances were given from Vaughn to Sark and vice-versa. The men in Sydney's life always seemed to hate another.  
  
I led the small group to the room, with Vaughn tailing to make sure they didn't try anything, or rather, Sark didn't try anything. After it appeared his resources destroyed the majority of SD-6, I had come to respect him as a person, not only in business, but for the fact he loved my daughter and she loved him as well.  
  
"Everyone sit," I say as we all file in. Sydney and Sark sit on my left while Vaughn takes the seat on my right. At that moment, I notice that Sydney appears to be pregnant, or fat in an extremely weird fashion. She looks like Laura, I mean, Irina did when she was pregnant with Sydney, so she has to be.  
  
"So, what do we owe this pleasure of your visit?" I ask them both.  
  
"We have one of your escaped prisoners," Sark says.  
  
"How'd you manage that?" I ask them.  
  
"She was foolish to come to our house and make blind threats against our family, which I would not tolerate," Sark adds.  
  
"Where is she now?" Vaughn asks. First time he had talked since they had joined us.  
  
"I have her tied up at one of my facilities," Sark says. "I was going to make an arrangement to have her brought here, with your advisement."  
  
Sark was playing very cool in this. Wait, he said blind threats against his family, which meant they had to have more children that the one being formed in Sydney's body. Very interesting, all the information I could gather from not even asking questions about it.  
  
"Alright, I'll get a US Marshall to meet you at the location of you choice," I tell him. I had become in charge of Irina and all her activities, and the US Marshall's had become scared of me after they lost her.  
  
"Sounds good," Sark says. This time, I take note of their clothing. Sydney was dressed very nicely, as Sark was. Sark probably was loaded with all the money he had saved over the few short years he had in the business and had used the money to pamper Sydney to her every need.  
  
We all stood up at the same time and Sark proceeded out, but Sydney waited a second.  
  
"Dad, can we go out to eat, just you and me, tonight?" I ask him.  
  
"Sure," I say, giving in. "Where would you like to meet?"  
  
"How about that Italian restaurant on Main Street?" she asks.  
  
"That's fine," I reply to her. Vaughn follows them out and I have a lot of work to get together. Arrange for the meeting with the US Marshall's. wait, Italian? Obviously, she doesn't live in Italy, so that rules out one country.  
  
  
  
***That Night***  
  
I walk into the restaurant with my trench coat on and probably stick out like a sore thumb. I peruse the restaurant and spot Sydney at a table towards the back. I give the hostess a nod and just walk towards the seat. I had a lot of questions for her, and hopefully, she'll answer them.  
  
"Hey, dad," Sydney says.  
  
"Hello, Sydney," I say to her as I sit down.  
  
"How are things?" she asks me as we glance over the menu.  
  
"Fine, actually better since you brought me back my prisoner," I tell her. Light the mood between us hopefully would break the ice in our relationship.  
  
"I wanted to have dinner with you so we could play catch up," she starts. "It took me forever to convince Andrew that I would be safe, so I told him I would go to some place remote, so this restaurant won."  
  
"Good plan," I reply. Learned one more fact, Sark's first name is Andrew.  
  
"There's so much to tell you dad," she says. "To start, I'm pregnant, if you didn't notice."  
  
"Actually, I did. You look just like your mother did," I say, obviously hitting on a sore spot for both of us.  
  
"Yes," she mutters, then begins again, as if she had practiced our dinner, "And we have a three-year-old daughter, Delia."  
  
Another daughter? I wonder if she'll let me see her. "Did you bring her with you?"  
  
"Yes, and we'll arrange for you to see her," she informs me.  
  
"Great, it's about time I was a grandfather," I tell her with a small smile.  
  
"She'll love you," Sydney says.  
  
We continued from there, talking about various topics, from Delia and their wedding, but she never even hinted at where they lived. Sark must of told her specifically not to.  
  
When we were finishing our dinner, I looked up and noticed a certain individual walk through the doors. I was facing the door, as Sydney was not, and wouldn't notice the person quite yet. But it was apparent they had seen me, and was about to come over and say hi.  
  
"Sydney," I say. "Will's here, and he's coming right this way."  
  
  
  
~~Thanks for reading, and please review! All comments and suggestions are welcome!!~~ Masquerade!! 


	5. Is This How It's Going to Be?

Author's Notes: Not much to say this time except thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter. Enjoy. I had fun writing this one!  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias do not belong to me, but to the wonderful J.J. Abrams and "his people."  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
  
  
I quickly slink down to under the table. Luckily for us, we were sitting at a booth and I was easily able to hide under the table. There was no way I could even start to face Will yet. Heck, I could hardly face my father. What could I say to him? By the way, I was never really dead, I ran off with the man that tortured you that I fell in love with? I think he would hate me forever. I would rather have Will thinking me as an angel than what I really am.  
  
I listened very carefully as my father and Will exchanged some quick small talk, a usual hello, how are you, etc. I waited a minute after I heard goodbyes said and heard my father say to get up. I carefully get up, back into my seat and breathe finally.  
  
"That was close," I say to him. I glance around and see that Will was leaving. They must not have been able to get a table.  
  
"Sydney, why are you so afraid to tell everyone and me about your new life?" he asks me rather bluntly.  
  
"Why? I married a man that some view as a cold-blooded killer, he's tortured one of my best friends, but still, I love him with all my heart. I just didn't think you all could understand that," I say to him. It was the truth.  
  
"Good," he says and takes a bite of his salad. Is that what he was looking for?  
  
  
  
  
  
After we finished I heard my cell phone ring. I pulled it out of my purse and saw it was the one man I loved.  
  
"Hey," I say answering the phone.  
  
"You gotta get out of there," is all he says to me.  
  
"What's wrong?" I ask with concern.  
  
"Go to the back door, and jump in the car in the back, now," he says very hurriedly.  
  
I take one look at my father, cover the phone and say, "I have to run to the bathroom."  
  
I head to the back, figuring my father must have had to do with some part of this, if there was a "this" at all. I went out the back door, and sure enough, there was a black Cadillac, my favorite for espionage and jumped in. I recognized the driver from earlier and he peeled out of the alley. He didn't say anything, but I knew we were headed to Andrew's house.  
  
When we pulled into the driveway, I quickly ran inside and found Andrew sitting in the living room playing with Delia. I had suddenly felt very fatigued and gently walked over to the couch and collapsed on it. Coming back to LA was very stressful, not exactly the best for someone who's 6 months pregnant.  
  
I smile at the lovely sight that is my Andrew playing with Delia and he gets up and ushers me into the kitchen. Normally is a sign to "talk" about "the stuff". I walk in behind him and grab a glass of water as he begins.  
  
"I think your father was going to nab you," he says to me.  
  
"Then why would he allow me to go to the bathroom alone?" I ask him in reply.  
  
"Didn't want to arouse too much suspicion. My guess, he'll do it again, if he can find you," he asks. "Did you check for tracers?"  
  
"First thing, but if the CIA has a new undetectable one we're screwed," I tell him.  
  
"True, but I doubt they would," he says with his I'm better than them attitude.  
  
"Why would my father want me?" I ask him.  
  
"My guess, to get information about me out of you," Andrew tells me.  
  
I walk over to him and we both are standing side by side with our hands interlocked in front of the kitchen sink. We both look down, knowing the past is slowing coming back to us again.  
  
"This sucks now, doesn't it?" I say to break the mood.  
  
"Indeed it does," he says, getting back to his vague answers he was so famous for in the beginning.  
  
"What's the plan?" I ask him, getting back into spy mode.  
  
He sighs, admitting it's game time again, "Well, we have to go back to wherever. We can't go back to Australia, we know that that house was compromised. I have a great house on the Mediterranean that I know you would love," he tells me.  
  
"Is this how it's going to be?" I ask him.  
  
"How what's going to be?" he replies.  
  
"You know, every time someone finds us we get up and move. What about Delia?" I ask him.  
  
"It will be good for her, seeing the world at such a young age," he adds.  
  
We both know that's the only answer we can come up with that could remotely make any sense, and once again, stare at our feet in defeat.  
  
"I wish we could just be a normal family, with a suburbia home and a dog and a white picket fence," I say, dreaming off.  
  
"Sydney, I'm afraid that your family has never been normal, and I don't think it was planning on starting now," he tells me.  
  
I crack a smile at him and remember all the reasons I fell in love with this man. I lean up to him and give him a peck on the cheek.  
  
"That was for being the greatest in the world," I tell him.  
  
"The entire world?" he asks me, joking.  
  
"Yes, the entire world," I tell him in half seriousness.  
  
We both stop for a second, to get ourselves back in check, back to the real world. Then, he brings it up.  
  
"Vaughn didn't seem too happy to see you with me and alive for that matter today," he says to me, almost as if he was jealous.  
  
"What I might have had with Vaughn, in which there was nothing that actually materialized, will never happen because I now have you," I tell him and wrap my arms around his waist.  
  
"Okay," is his only reply. He lips give off a small grin and I just chuckle inside. He wanted to make sure that I didn't have any feelings left for Vaughn, in which I didn't.  
  
We both stood in each other's arms for a minute, but the clearing of a throat made us aware that we weren't the only ones left in the room. We both turned to see who it was, and was made aware of a gun pointing right at our heads.  
  
  
  
  
  
~Please Review! I love to hear what you've got to say about it!~ Masquerade 


	6. Hurtful Words

Author's Notes: It seems like forever since I've updated this story, or any of my stories for that matter. So, my greatest apologies! Thank you for the reviews from the last chapter! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's super long to make up for my slackerness!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not and never will own the character of Alias, so don't think I do!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**SYDNEY POV**  
  
  
  
We both stood in each other's arms for a minute, but the clearing of a throat made us aware that we weren't the only ones left in the room. We both turned to see whom it was, and was made aware of a gun pointing right at our heads.  
  
  
  
"You know, Mr. Bristow, if you really wanted to talk, guns wouldn't be necessary," Andrew tells our new visitor.  
  
"I thought my way was more effective," my father replies.  
  
"More effective?" I repeat in laughter.  
  
"It seemed earlier you weren't as willing to cooperate," Jack adds.  
  
"In your eyes, I suppose," I mutter.  
  
The swing door opens from behind us and my father swings his gun at the person who entered.  
  
"Mommy, mommy," Delia says as she attaches to my leg.  
  
I carefully kneel down to her, trying to avoid her from seeing the gun in my father's hands.  
  
"Yes honey?" I reply.  
  
"I heard another man here, who is it?" she asks me in her childish voice.  
  
"It's just an old friend of Mommy and Daddy's, now, how about you run upstairs and get ready for bed?" I tell her.  
  
"Okay," she says and gives me a kiss on the cheek before she runs out of the room.  
  
There is a small silence that fills the air before any of us try to speak again. My father still, with his gun trained on us, begins the conversation, once again.  
  
"She's the spitting image of both of you," he says.  
  
"Why thank you," I reply to him, obviously getting on his nerves.  
  
"What do you want with us?" Andrew bluntly asks him.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Sark bringing us back to my point," my father states.  
  
"Yes," I say angrily.  
  
"It's simple as this, the CIA wants you in for questioning, both of you," he adds at the end.  
  
"Oh really?" I question.  
  
"Yes, and if you decide not to comply, I think I can find a few ways to make you both comply quickly," he informs us.  
  
Andrew looks over at me and gives me his nod of defeat, and I assume we've lost.  
  
"All right, but Delia comes with us," I tell him.  
  
"Understandable," he agrees. "I can have Vaughn watch him."  
  
Andrew has a look of disgust rise on his face at the last comment and all I can do is give him a smile of love.  
  
"We have to grab our daughter," Andrew tells my father.  
  
"I'll be waiting," he states.  
  
  
  
  
  
We take hands and walk into the family room and head upstairs to Delia's room. We both pause before entering, knowing that this was not how it was supposed to be. We did the CIA a favor, and still, they're making our lives miserable again. We walked inside the room cautiously and saw her playing with a few dolls.  
  
"Delia, honey, we have to go somewhere, okay?" Andrew tells her.  
  
"Where?" she asks us with her bright eyes.  
  
"A special place. Mommy and Daddy have to talk with some people and you're going to come with us, okay?" I say as I kneel down to her height.  
  
"Alright," she says and Andrew grabs her and carries her down the stairs.  
  
My father says nothing except to usher us out to the van that was parked in front of the house. Neither of us says a word, except to the few words to Delia. I don't know if the CIA could even hold us for anything, plus, Andrew has done them tons of favors I don't know how they could.  
  
The ride was uneventful and the few CIA agents in the car gave us looks I could never of imagined receiving before. Had we done something unintentionally? Had Irina done something? Knowing that woman, she probably deceived them into believing some crazy tale.  
  
We arrived at the CIA and we were both led to separate rooms. Delia was unbearable to separate with, but they guaranteed us they would take the best care of her. Probably interrogate her as well.  
  
I sat down in my room and it was one of the smaller rooms. I could only ponder who was going to question me. When the door opens, I'm greeted by the one person I wouldn't want to interrogate me, Vaughn.  
  
"Hello Sydney," he says and sits down with a folder in hand.  
  
"Hi," I only can reply to him.  
  
"How about we get things started?" he asks, very professionally.  
  
"Doesn't look like I have an option," I tell him.  
  
"Where have you been living for the past 4 years?" he stars with.  
  
"Australia," I say.  
  
"Is that where you were planning on returning to?" he follows up.  
  
"No," I answer.  
  
"Where then?" he ponders.  
  
"I don't know," I lie. He taught me to lie, so who knows if he knew I was bluffing.  
  
"Interesting," he says, scribbling on his notepad.  
  
"How about you tell me everything you know about Sark's operations?" he bluntly asks.  
  
"How about I let him tell you what he wants you to know," I tell him.  
  
"I think for your best interests, you should tell me what I want to know," Vaughn forces upon me.  
  
"What could I have possibly done wrong to make the CIA turn against me?" I say, muttering to myself and placing my head in my hands.  
  
"You fell in love," Vaughn quietly says under his breath.  
  
"What?" I say, perking up to greet his glaze.  
  
"I said, you fell in love," he says, repeating the unintentional comment.  
  
"I did," I tell him and a smile grows across my face.  
  
"Was it worth it?" he asks, obviously this was becoming a conversation between us as friends again.  
  
"Most of it. The worst was not being able to see you all," I tell him honestly.  
  
"You father. he was distraught for weeks, months, even a year after you left. I.." Vaughn says, stopping his comments.  
  
"What is it?" I ask him.  
  
"I.." He begins. "Had lost you as soon as I knew Sark had you. Once you left for good, I knew you had slipped right between my fingers."  
  
He looks down, in defeat, and all our emotions are lingering in the air. I always thought there was something between Vaughn and I, but with everything that happened, I never got to see what could have been. I think I wrecked him for a while, but he seems stronger, but my presence has made him weak again.  
  
"I'm sorry about leaving," I tell him. "But I'm not sorry about falling in love with Andrew."  
  
He responds to the first comment with a small smile upon his face, but the second comment causes a frown to turn his grin away. He seems to snap back into agent mode and shifts some papers around.  
  
"Well, anyway, how about you tell me about Delia?" he asks.  
  
"Her birthday is May 14th, three years ago, she's an angel, what else do you need to know?" I ask in reply.  
  
"Is she going to become part of your messed up family?" he asks harshly.  
  
I become enraged at his comment, so I answer in rage, "Well, to start, she's already part of the family, and Andrew and I are doing everything and anything to keep her away from the life we both led so horribly for such a long time."  
  
"Like that will do any good," I hear come from under his breath.  
  
"I'm sick of your comments, you know that? So unless you get some real questions or a brain, I'd appreciate being questioned by someone else," I tell him angrily.  
  
He stands up, shuffles his papers into a pile and stands up and heads to the door. He looks back for a second, but quickly exits the room.  
  
I think my returning back here made things worse than they already were. I could only imagine what Andrew was going through right now.  
  
  
  
  
  
**SARK POV**  
  
  
  
  
  
The CIA fools decided it would be amusing to make me wait to be questioned. So, I sat alone in the room for a long period of time before anyone entered. I got my cover stories straight, certain pieces of false information straight in my mind so I wouldn't stumble over them. I was ready when I heard the crack of a door.  
  
"Mr. Sark," his goody-boy CIA Agent voice says in the room.  
  
"Mr. Vaughn, interesting that I get to speak with you," I reply.  
  
"Should I feel honored?" he asks me.  
  
I give him my trademark glare and mutter to him, "I suppose."  
  
"Let's get down to business," he informs me.  
  
"Let's," I add with a small grin.  
  
"You know, we haven't heard much from you in the business since you've left, which makes me ask you, are you still in this business?" he asks.  
  
"Sydney and I decided to try to avoid any connections to our past as possible. I kept my promise to her because I couldn't see her hurt," I start explaining, making sure to try to make Mr. Vaughn as jealous as possible. "I still kept my contacts and locations in tact for my family's personal safety, as shown with Irina's visiting us."  
  
"Do you actually love her? Or are you using her?" he asks me.  
  
"How dare you actually ask me such a question," I start with him. "I love Sydney and Delia with all my heart. Some claim that I am not capable of love, my Sydney wormed her way right into my heart."  
  
I saw the look of sadness reach across his face and it was obvious that I was winning. Pretty boy was not about to try to get my Sydney into his heart. If I could hurt him as much as possible, I could keep him away from her.  
  
"Alright, that's very well, now, here's a piece of paper," he starts, laying a piece in front of me on the table, "I want a list of your contacts."  
  
"Perhaps not," I tell him.  
  
"You realize I'm the one with the upper hand here? I can keep you hostage for as long as I want," he informs me.  
  
"It appears that way. Do you not remember me doing you CIA people quite the many favors?" I ask him.  
  
He ponders my statement a second before responding, "Define 'favors'."  
  
"Well, I destroyed SD-6 to start, discontinued the existence of my organization, returned an escaped prisoner of yours back to your custody, what else?" I start.  
  
"We are very aware of your contributions, Mr. Sark, but I would start writing if I were you," he stresses.  
  
"Or what? You'll lock me up and let Sydney go so that she'll be hurt for life? So maybe you can try to win her back?" I say, stressing the last point.  
  
He looks stunned at my accusation, but begins, "I thought you wouldn't want to hurt Sydney, so I would do this for her sake."  
  
I look at him for a second, then pick up the pen, "I will only provide you with some of my contacts for now."  
  
He doesn't respond to my comment, only watches me as I scribble the names of a few of my older contacts that I no longer associate with. That will give them a run for their money.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As soon as I finish, they let me out of the room and lead me into another one, where I see Sydney and Delia sitting on a bench. I go over to them and give Sydney an awkward kiss and Delia a kiss on her head.  
  
"How are my two angels?" I ask them.  
  
"Fine," Sydney says obviously not well. She stands up and leaves Delia on the bench and we head over to the opposite corner of the room.  
  
"What happened?" I asked her as soon as we were alone.  
  
"Vaughn interrogated me," she tells me.  
  
"Same here," I tell her.  
  
"We got in a rather large fight," she explains.  
  
"What happened?" I ask her, placing a hand on her back to gently rub her back.  
  
"We had 'the inevitable talk' and it didn't go very well," she says.  
  
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, darling, I got him pretty good," I tell her.  
  
I see a small smile and then it turn into a frown, "What happened?"  
  
"He wanted to know if I actually loved you and I told him off, explaining to him that you are the only person I've ever loved, well, and then Delia as well," I tell her.  
  
She is amused and happy at the statement and pulls me up into a hug, in which I plant a few kisses on her neck. It seems we are interrupted when our favorite person walks in.  
  
"The director would like to speak to you both," Pretty CIA boy tells us.  
  
"Alright," I reply for both of us and we start heading out the door. Who knows what was in store for us now.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~I'd love to hear what you thought! Reviews are awesome! Thanks for reading~ Masquerade 


	7. Release and a Trip to the Zoo

Author's Notes: I'm the hugest slacker ever, but thanks for sticking with me on this story! Enjoy the extra long chapter I wrote in tribute to my slackerness. Once again, thank you to all the reviews I always get! You guys rock!  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Alias, especially Sark the cutie, belong to ABC and J.J. Abrams.  
  
**Sydney POV**  
  
We are both ushered into the director's office. It was someone different than Devlin, someone new. Andrew sat on the left and I sat down on the right. I put my hands up on the armrests and Andrew places his free hand next to me on top of my hand for reassurance.  
  
"Mr. Sark, Sydney," he begins.  
  
We both look down for a second, but then our eyes meet briefly.  
  
"After interviewing you both, we've decided that you pose no current threat to the safety of the American people and the CIA, so no charges will be placed on you. However, we'll allow you to go about your life as normal, but the CIA will have constant surveillance on your lives." We both sigh a breath of relief and smiles creep upon both of our faces. Andrew gives my hand a squeeze and we're both happier than the day that Delia was born.  
  
"Does that mean we're free to go?" I ask him.  
  
"At this time, yes, but if either one of you does anything suspicious, you may be brought in for questioning," the new director tell us.  
  
"Thank you," I tell him and we both stand up from our seats. A guard takes us to the front entrance and Delia is waiting there waiting for us.  
  
"Can we go now Mommy?" she asks me.  
  
I kneel down to her, "Yes, honey."  
  
Andrew picks her up and twirls her around, "Do you want to go to the zoo?"  
  
"Oh, can we Daddy?" she asks with her face brightening up.  
  
"Yes, we can," he tells her.  
  
We get a few glares from those sitting in the lobby, but we make our way towards the door.  
  
"Wait, Sydney," I hear a voice call out to me.  
  
I turn around and see Vaughn running towards me. Andrew turns around with Delia in his hands as well and gives me a deathly glare.  
  
"Yes, Agent Vaughn?" I ask him very professionally.  
  
He looks a little shocked at how the whole scene was panning out, but continued on in what he was going to say, "We'll be in touch with you in the next few days. If the three of you disappear again, we will find you and put you in federal custody."  
  
Hurt by his words at the end a little bit, I take a second to compose myself before I reply to him. However, Andrew buts in first.  
  
"That will be fine," he tells Vaughn.  
  
"Good," Vaughn says. He obviously wanted to say something else, but couldn't bring himself to do it with Andrew present.  
  
We both turn around and head out the door into a bright, sunny, LA day. My eyes squint at first and the extreme brightness, but quickly adjust. We step into the car they provided and it takes us back to Andrew's house.  
  
When we arrive at the house, Delia runs to the kitchen, wanting to be fed, and I follow her in. I pull out a loaf of bread and peanut butter, what seemed to be the only decent thing to eat. I make her a sandwich and she runs into the family room to eat it.  
  
I feel him come up from behind me and place his warm hands on my shoulder, "You okay?"  
  
"I've been better," I mutter.  
  
"I was thinking of buying a place on the Mediterranean in France for the three of us. I mean, four of us," he adds in.  
  
"Yes, throughout all of this day, I almost forgot I was pregnant," I joke.  
  
"How could you, you've got a bulging stomach with a little special someone in there?" he kids with me, planting a kiss on my cheek.  
  
"I know, it's just been so. stressful," I say, sighing in relief.  
  
"Pregnant women shouldn't be placed under a lot of stress," he says so factually.  
  
"I know, I know," I tell him.  
  
"You want to go to the zoo? See some giraffe?" Andrew asks me.  
  
"Actually," I start, turn around to face him, "It sounds perfect."  
  
"I'll get Delia ready and you sit down for a minute. Drink some water and eat something, you look a little pale," he tells me. He gets so overprotective sometimes.  
  
"Alright," I say and sit down at the dining room table with a glass of water in hand.  
  
I take the time to reflect on the day. The weird thing was, my father wasn't present in any of it past the part where he brought us into custody. I found that interesting. The CIA had changed in the past four years. Vaughn had become, I don't know, different. My father hadn't changed, but he seemed a lot older, probably with all the stress I put him through. How could I make it up to him?  
  
"You ready?" Andrew says, peaking his head through.  
  
"Yep," I say, putting on my usual happy façade and heading out the door with the two loves of my life.  
  
Andrew drove us in his car and we headed to the LA Zoo. We quickly found a spot, considering it was a workday, and headed towards the entrance. Delia was being very obnoxious, but she was just too excited. With all the stress we've put on her in the past few days, I give her the okay to act however she wanted.  
  
"Mommy!" she says first. "I want to see the polar bears first!"  
  
"Okay, we'll go right there," I reassure her. Andrew takes my hand in his and we walk hand in hand after he pays the entrance fee. Delia was getting ahead of us, so I had to call her back.  
  
"Delia, come grab Mommy's hand," I tell her.  
  
"Okay," she reluctantly says and grabs my free hand.  
  
We walk to the polar bear cages and no one is nearby, so she goes running around, looking at the bears and mumbling different comments about each one. Andrew and I lean back and just watch her spite.  
  
"She's amazing," I tell him.  
  
"She takes after her mother," Andrew says, placing a hand on my face.  
  
"And her amazing father," I say, smiling back at him.  
  
"I guess she just lucked out with two amazing parents," Andrew comments.  
  
"I'd have to agree," I pipe in.  
  
"She'll love the place I want us to move to," he informs me.  
  
"Oh really?" I question.  
  
"It's on the beach, and we can take out a boat all the time, teach her French," he starts rambling on.  
  
"Of course we'll have to teach her French. And Spanish, and German, and Russian, when she's older," I tell him.  
  
"What, six?" he asks.  
  
"That sounds about right," I smile.  
  
"She'll be speaking 10 languages by the time she is 10," Andrew jokes.  
  
"She'll have the best teaching her," I comment.  
  
"Of course," he adds, and we both just sit back in silence and watch her youth and spite and beauty.  
  
It was soon nightfall and we had covered most of the park. Delia certainly kept us on our toes, but I had to occasionally sit down and rest my feet. A pregnant woman walking an entire zoo was not exactly the best combination, but since I was in shape, I could handle it.  
  
We headed to the car and Delia was getting tired from the adventure she had today.  
  
"I'm hungry," she says.  
  
"No complaining," I say to her, a phrase I constantly stress on her.  
  
"Sorry, mommy," she says and tilts her head to the ground.  
  
Andrew obviously wants to break the tension so he says, "How about we go out to dinner?"  
  
"Sounds great," I smile at him.  
  
We all piled into the car. He started driving and I had no idea about what restaurant he was going to take us to. Any food sounded good right now. I started to remember some of my surroundings when it hit me.  
  
"Andrew, we can't go there," I tell him.  
  
"Why not?" he asks me.  
  
"I've had a stressful enough day, I don't want to have to explain to my best friend why I left four years ago," I explain.  
  
He sighs, understanding, then turns a different way, "Alright, you win."  
  
"Good," I smile.  
  
He pulls up in front of a very family oriented restaurant. It was kind of like a Friday's. Not exactly the place I could imagine Andrew at, at all, they probably didn't serve wine.  
  
"Interesting choice," I tell him.  
  
"I thought Delia might like it," he informs me.  
  
I smile back at him and we quickly get a table and open our menus. Delia is soon coloring all over her children's menu.  
  
"Honey, what do you want?" I ask her.  
  
"Grilled cheese and fries," she tells me.  
  
"Alright," I say.  
  
"What are you having, honey?" Andrew asks me.  
  
"I haven't had a good bacon cheeseburger in awhile, and since we're in America, and I'm a hungry pregnant woman, I think I'm going for it," I joke with him.  
  
"Sounds perfect," he tells me.  
  
The waitress comes and takes our order and we just have small talk and Delia insists on recapping all her favorite animals, in which I think she meant the whole park. Andrew and I just listened to her ramble on and just laugh when she would say the cutest things. We were truly blessed.  
  
We had just gotten our food when my head perked up at the couple that walked into the door. It was Vaughn and Alice. He didn't notice me at all and was seated at the opposite end of the restaurant. Didn't surprise me that he kept it up with that woman.  
  
"What is it?" Andrew asks me.  
  
"What do you mean?" I reply in question.  
  
"You have that look on your face when you get riled about something," he comments.  
  
"Well, Vaughn just walked in," I inform him.  
  
He does an eye sweep of the room and I see him spot him. He looks back at me.  
  
"You think he knows we're here?" Andrew asks me.  
  
"I don't think so," I say, looking down at my food.  
  
"Don't worry about it, enjoy your food," he says to me.  
  
"You're right," I tell him and I pick up my cheeseburger and take a bite out of it.  
  
We enjoy the rest of our meal while it is prevalent that both of us are keeping an eye on Vaughn. It was amazing how Delia was oblivious to everything that was happening around her and I wish it would stay like that. Sooner or later she would know and it would probably get the best of her.  
  
We're handed the check when I notice Vaughn had gone up to the bar to grab a drink and watch a little bit of the Kings game that was on. That's when he noticed us.  
  
He is a little disturbed by the image he perceives, of Andrew, Delia, and I as the happy family and he was obviously trying to shake it off by absorbing himself in the game. I went to the bathroom before we left and was stopped by him on my way back to my table.  
  
"Fancy meeting you here," he says to me.  
  
"Indeed," I quickly reply.  
  
"Is there a problem?" Andrew says with Delia in tow.  
  
"Not at all," I tell him, then I turn my attention to Vaughn, "Have a good night."  
  
Andrew wraps his hand around my waist protectively and we head out the door. Before we make it to our car, Vaughn runs out to us.  
  
"Sydney, wait," I hear him say.  
  
"Is there a problem, Mr. Vaughn?" Andrew asks him.  
  
"Can we meet for lunch tomorrow?" Vaughn asks me.  
  
I glance at Andrew, then reply, "Okay."  
  
I get into the car and just leave Vaughn standing in awe. We pull out and away from the restaurant before Andrew says anything.  
  
"You think having lunch will make your problems cease to exist?" he asks me.  
  
"No, I just want him to get one thing straight, that he can never have me, and what we have now is nothing," I explain to him.  
  
"Just checking," Andrew replies as we drive away.  
  
Was I ready to have lunch with Vaughn to fix all our problems? Probably not, but it had to be done. So I geared myself for the meal that was about to take place tomorrow.  
  
~Thanks for reading! Reviews are awesome as well!~ Masquerade 


	8. Flying Away

**Author's Notes:** Well, this is it, I believe. I've kind of lost ideas for this story, so here is my last chapter! Thanks to all the people who've reviewed this story and have read it's prequel, "Usual Adventures". Please read my other S/S fic "Sweetest Thing" as well! 

**Disclaimer:** The characters of Alias belong to J.J. Abrams and ABC.

****SYDNEY POV****

            I walked into the restaurant that Vaughn told me to meet him at. I glanced across the room and didn't observe his presence, so I grabbed an open table and started to glance over the menu.  

            The menu was the last thing on my mind right now. I had to set things straight with Vaughn over this lunch because we were flying to France in 5 hours. Andrew had found this wonderful little, or well, it wasn't that little, house on the Mediterranean Sea and we were going to move in later this week.   

            I heard the bell ring on the door and looked up to see Vaughn walking in. I gave a slight wave to him and he took notice. I waited as he walked over and quickly found a seat across from me.

            "Sorry, I'm late," he says.

            "No, you're fine, I just got here," I add in. It almost seemed, normal. However, the underlying emotions between us were too strong to look past that idea.

            "Order yet?" he asks, keeping the conversation light so far.

            "No, actually, no one's served me yet," I explain to him. 

            He stops talking at that point and seemed too engrossed in the menu instead of the fact that we were trying to have lunch as two civil beings.

            The waiter showed up and took our order and we remained alone, with a lot to cover. I took a glass of my water and waited for him to start the conversation.

            "You know, I have a lot to say, so if you don't mind, I'm going to try to get it all off my chest first, okay?" he starts with. I give him a slight nod, in which he continues his conversation.

            "In our whole work history, I always wondered if there could be more between us. After you returned from Sark's capture five years ago, I knew there was something different about you. I just couldn't figure it out, until your father and I found you and him on that beach," he says, spitting on the words 'you and him.'

            I slightly nodded after a word or two here and there, but just continued to listen to what he had to say, "You know, after you 'faked your death', I knew that you had to still be alive. But I didn't do anything about it, you know. I'm sorry if I've ever hurt you through all of this, and I hope we can leave here have a civil appreciation of each other." 

            I get a nod of approval from him, indicating that I could speak what was on my mind. The moment I was waiting for. "I'm sorry if I ever hurt you through everything that's happened, as well. Sark and I developed an attraction and I couldn't turn away from it. I knew I could be with him and I knew it was too hard for us to ever be together. I just hope we can still be friends."

            "Always friends," he tells me.

            "Good," I sigh a breath of relief. "Now, that we have all that out of the way, we can actually be calm and civil."

            "Certainly, so, you should tell me all about Delia," Vaughn adds.

            I'm taken back by his words and say, "You seriously want to know about our daughter?"

            He smiles a bit and replies, "Of course. You know, seeing Sark with her makes me see a totally softer side of him. Only then was I able to realize how you were able to fall in love with him so easily."

            "Well, good. Anyway, Delia, she's great. Back in Australia she would play on the beach all day long and make the most amazing sandcastles, well, of course with Andrew and my help," I tell him, reminiscing on a more pleasant part of our history.

            "She sounds great," he adds.

            I smile, "She really is. We agreed that we would home school her until maybe high school. We already started teaching her a little French."

            "Good choice," he says. "What about you? Have you been doing anything lately?"

            Finally, I seemed relaxed. We were enjoying ourselves and the lunch was going great. "Well, right now, I'm a mother, with this one running around and another one on the way." I caress my stomach a little, with the huge bulge that was somewhat become inconvenient, once again. 

            "Well, I'm glad you're happy being a mother. You seem to be a great one," Vaughn says.

            I give him a generous smile back and say, "Thank you. And what about you Vaughn? What have you been up too?"

            "Work as usual, I was in charge of a huge drug bust last year of a major drug ring, so that was pretty exciting. Otherwise, the usual. Weiss and I still get drunk every Friday it seems," he chuckles.

            "What about Alice?" I ask curiously.

            "Oh, we broke up 3 years ago. She wanted to get married, and well, I just couldn't. I started dating a friend of Weiss's a few months back and we're taking it pretty slow," he informs me.

            "Good, I'm glad you're staying happy," I say to him.

            Our food arrives and we eat, discussing tidbits of things here and there, from stories about my dad and LA and my favorite city in Australia. The meal was soon finished and neither of us tried to kill each other.

            After we pay the bill, I knew it was time for me to break the news. 

            "We're leaving tonight, around 9pm," I inform him.

            He seems a little saddened by the answer, but continues with, "Where are you headed?"

            "The Mediterranean Sea," I start. "Andrew bought a lovely house on the coast there in France."

            "That sounds nice," he says sadly.

            "You know, it's not going to be like before. I'll call you once a week, I swear. And I'll still keep in contact with my father and maybe you both could come visit sometime. We just don't think living here in LA would suit our needs. We need somewhere that won't remind us of our past."

            "I understand," he adds, standing up. "Well, you should be going, right?"

            I seemed a little bit sad by that comment, but I join him and stand up. We embrace in a short hug and say our goodbyes. It went well.

            That night, we drove to the airport and boarded Andrew's plane. I sat down in my seat, Delia sat in the front with one of her dolls, and Andrew was taking care of some business. I poured myself a glass of juice, and tried to relax. This was a whole lot.

            He finished his phone call and came over and sat next to me. He ran his hand through my hair and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

            "Hey," I say.

            "How are you?" he asks.

            "Well, the meeting with Vaughn went well," I finally tell him after six hours. 

            He nods, "Well, good, I was getting worried. You hadn't spoke about it since you returned."

            "I know, I'm sorry. Are you ready?" I ask him.

            "For what?" he says, confused partially.

            I smile, "To start new. But this time, it won't be as hard as the first time."

            "Yes, my love, I'm ready."

~Thanks for reading the story! Any final reviews would brighten my day!~ Masquerade


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